“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20 NASB1995)
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, who is God, the
second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – had just been
put to death by his enemies on a cross, and he had just been resurrected from
the dead, and he appeared to his disciples and to many other people over a period
of 40 days, I believe, before he ascended back to heaven to be with God the
Father, and then to send his Holy Spirit to indwell the lives of his followers.
But while he was still on the earth, after he had been
resurrected from the dead, he spoke these words to his disciples, but not just for
the 11 who were left, for this is a commission for all of us who follow Jesus
Christ with our lives in repentance and in walks of obedience to our Lord. For
we, too, are his disciples, and we are to be those who are the light of the
world and the salt of the earth who proclaim the excellencies of God who
delivered us out of our slavery to sin and who gave us new lives in him to be
lived for him.
But in order for us to go and make disciples of Christ of
people of all the nations, in today’s world, we are not all going to go
physically to all these nations. Some of us go with the gospel to many nations
via the internet, where God has placed us to share his gospel and the truth of
his word. And so we are not going to be able to physically baptize all those
who believe in Jesus, either. But all of us are to be teaching the people that,
as followers of Christ, we must be those who obey our Lord and his commands.
So many people today, though, who claim that they are making
disciples of Christ of people, are not teaching them that they must obey our
Lord and his commands for us who are under the New Covenant. And so many are
not being taught that they must deny self, die to sin daily, and walk in
obedience to our Lord as part of what it means to believe in Jesus Christ, to know
God, to be forgiven of our sins, and to have eternal life with God in heaven.
But this is essential that we teach this. For many people
are making verbal professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but their lives are not
changing. Many are continuing on a sinful course, still doing what their sinful
hearts desire, and who are not obeying the Lord. But the Scriptures teach that
we must die to sin and obey God, for if sin is still what we practice, and not
obedience to our Lord, then we do not have the hope of salvation from sin nor
of eternal life with God, for we don’t really know God, and Jesus is not our
Lord.
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts.. Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?.. resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.” (Romans 6:12,16,22)
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John
6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32;
Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2;
1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Seek the Lord
Based off Isaiah 55
Musical Instrumentation by Mark
Bradley
An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
“Come to Me all you
who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and
eat what’s good today,
And your soul will
delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and
you will live.
I have made an
eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of
the Lamb.”
Seek the Lord while
He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked
forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the
Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons
him.
“For My thoughts are
not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My
ways,”
declares the Lord,
our God.
“My word that goes
out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return
to Me unfulfilled.
My word will
accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal
I intend.
You will go in joy
and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will
burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees
clap their hands.”
Go Therefore and Make Disciples
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